• Health Policy and Management
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.120-139
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• 1999

The objectives of this study were to examine the utilization patterns of oriental medical care and to discover problems in its delivery. The data for this study were collected from a questionnaire survey mailed out from March 10 to April 9 1999 to 6.346 oriental medical clinic. The questionnaires were then distributed to two patients in each clinics. Of these questionnaires. 670 were completed and returned. The major statistical methods used for the analysis were the t-test. ANOVA, and x$^2$-test. The major findings are as follows: 1. Respondents reported visiting oriental doctors twice as often as they visited western doctors(All those completing the survey received the questionnaire at oriental medical clinics). 2. The number of reported visits to oriental physicians according to among gender, age, marital status, education, income and residence. Males, married respondents, the elderly and the residents of rural areas visited oriental physicians more frequently than females, singles, younger respondents and urbanites. Those people belonging to the middle income class and middle education level also more frequently visited oriental physicians. 3. There are several factors that restrict the utilization of oriental medical care, such as the limitation of the scientific diagnostic instrument use commonplace reliance upon western medical techniques, and the perception of high price for oriental medical care. It is very important to focus oriental medical care onto the fields of acupuncture, circulatory system disease, musculoskeletal system ailments, etc. to improve the utilization of oriental medical care. Other policies for the improvement of oriental medical care include the standardization of price, quality and quantity of oriental medicine.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.35-51
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose on this study was to analyze medical health insurance to provide useful data to reestablish oriental medical insurance fees for long-term care hospitals. Methods: First, comparative analysis on medical health insurance was performed, calculating insurance fees of patients admitted to Mungyung Long-term Care Hospital. The oriental medical insurance fee of the patients was calculated as if the patients have been admitted to oriental long-term care hospitals, and the ratio of oriental medical insurance fee to western was calculated. Results: 1. The ratios of total medical expenses were 90% within 3 months and 82% over 3 months. 2. The ratios of co-pays were 86% within 3 months and 82% over 3 months. Conclusions: Oriental medical insurance fees need to be reevaluated.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.1-30
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• 2000

One form of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), oriental medicine has developed differently from the western medicine under its own environment and history. Western medicine was introduced to Korea about 120 years ago. But unfortunately, there still is an indisputable lack of cooperative movement between oriental medicine ＆ western medicine. However, the market share of CAM has grown markedly in most industrialized countries (the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia). In these countries, alternative medicine such as acupuncture and herbal remedies was adopted as a "complementary" therapies of mainstream medicine, to calm the symptoms of terminal illness. Recently in Korea, there was a movement to cooperate oriental medicine ＆ western medicine. However, until this time in Korea, there was a conflict between oriental medicine ＆ western medicine. They blame each other. Such as "Other side is guilty of improper evaluation of patients, possibly suppressing effective therapies of their own side and profit-motivated". Though most western medicine practitioners criticize oriental medicine, the level of adopting alternative forms of health care by the public and by some western medicine practitioners will continue to increase. Therefore oriental medicine ＆ western medicine share a mutual responsibility to apply evidence-based practices, to seek scientific empirical proof through planned interventions, and to increase the quality of health care.lity of health care.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.77-89
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• 2005

Since 1990's, the Korean society, experiencing the low fertility and aging society, has been confronting with the threats in health care sector. The threats are the increases in the demand for health care, health care financial burden, and so on. In particular, the change of disease pattern and aging population result in the increases patients' demand for not only western medical services but also oriental medical services and complimentary medicine. Recently, the increases in availability of oriental medical services and the health care resources related to oriental medicine are raising some issues and conflicts in the Korean health sector. Theses circumstance required policy makers, central and local government, and public health sector to develop health policies related to oriental medicine and interface or integrate of traditional Korean medicine and Western medicine. For the near future, these issues will probably remain the focus of integration of traditional Korean medicine and Western medicine in public health sector. To cope with the threats in health care sector, one of the opportunities is to scale-up e public role of traditional Korean medical services. The main purpose of this study was to develop strategies to scale-up the Public role of traditional Korean medical services for the future society. The research questions are: what are the trends and problems in traditional Koran medical sector; what are the causes of or associated factors to the problems; how to cope with the problems and how to resolve the cause?; what are the health policy directions and its strategies that the government should take to cope with the future demand and the burden on health care sector? The results of this study are as follows. In order ta scale-up the public role of traditional medicine, this research offered health policy directions for traditional Korean medicine in response to a change environment of health care sector. There are four directions to be addressed: 1) the development of and investment in public oriental medicine infra-structure; 2) the development of public policy on oriental medicine; 3) modernization and globalisation of traditional Korean medicine; 4) the expansion of academic exchange between Western medicine and traditional Korean medicine. Finally, we discussed stakenholders' on traditional Korean medicine in the health care market. Then, public policy options for future society was suggested.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.118-129
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• 1990

Socioeconomic status in this county progressed rapidly, this has brought about many changes in health care fields, namely, pattern of disease prevalence and morbidity, increase of the aged people, and also availability of health care in rural areas. According to the utilization study of medical care, it showed that the oriental medicine is used for the treatment of lasted chronic disease not the minor and common diseases which is quick in its effect. Particularly, in rural areas. prevalence of chronic disease is higher than that in urban areas. Although the health cafe need of the oriental medicine is high in rural areas, the distribution of manpower and facilities is lower than that in urban areas. Therefore the government has planned to implement the demonstration project for the oriental medicine at the designated 3 health centers in rural areas. The purpose of this study was to collect the utilization level of oriental medical care of the people in rural areas. To meet the purpose of this study, patient interview were applied. 790 patients visited to health center in project areas were selected and analyzed by experienced interviewers from 2 April to 21 April 1990. The major findings of this study were as follows ; 1) Of the 790 patients, 32.6 percent of the respondents had experience of using the oriental medicine. As for the utilization by age and sex. 54.8% of those was female and 70.7% was 40 years of age and more. 2) Reaction to the question of educational achievement showed that on schooling and primary school graduates accounted for 63.1%. 3) The most user of oriental medicine resides in country level, where the health center is located, and 80 percent of those users resides within 10Km. 4) More than 50% of the total was the chronic diseases which lingered for more than 3months. 5) 32.6 percent of the total cases used the oriental medicine. 61.2% among those was treated by oriental medical care hospital and 38.8% by oriental drug dispensaries etc. 6) The contont of oriental medical care varied ; 50.1% for prescription of herb drugs for treatment, 25.1% for health maintenance and 23.9% for acupuncture, moxibustion etc. 7) As for the motivation for using the oriental medicine. 56.6% of the respondents was for treatment of diseases and 27.9% wes for strengthening the physical weakness. 8) As for the effectiveness of the oriental medicine. 70.3% of the total cases satisfied with that treatment and 84.2% of the total cases will use the oriental medicine when is provided by health center.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.182-201
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• 2001

This Study has attemped to compare the health care systems of South and North Korea. There has been a wide difference in the health care System between the South and North of Korea. In this paper, I have also shown that each health care system has its own unique response to the social, political, and economic conditions of the country. Therefore the author analyzed and summarized the important difference of health care system between the South and the North of Korea as follows. 1. Compared with the Laissez-faire health care system of South Korea, North Korea has the state socialistic health care system which provide health care services to the people free of charge. And the North Korea is marking positive efforts toward the scientification and systemization of Oriental Medicine which is called Dongui-Hak in the North-on the basis of Ju-Che idea. 2. North Korea's health care system appears to be strongly geared toward extensive and preventive treatment and launched the massive sanitary propagation campaign. which have resulted in a great success. North Korea has a system of universal comprehensive care for its population. The government has a central role in planning and regulating health care. 3. The government also employs physicians, nurses, and other professionals to provide health care to patients at public expense. In North Korea, health professionals are government employees. They work for a salary and the system is funded through general taxation. 4. In the North Korea, health services area system of the cities and countre's unit is strictly conducted along with the doctor's area responsibility system. And so without referal card, patients can not use the upper-grade medical facilities. The health care delivery system of North Korea is made up of the fourth level procedue unlike South Korea. 5. General office of Oriental Medicine, Academy of Oriental Medical Science and Guidance Bureau of Oriental Medicine are established in the organization of the Department of Health in the North Korea. And nowadays much emphasis are equally placed on the Oriental Medicine as well as Western Medicine. Both South and North Korea have faced with a critical moment of developing a mutually agreeable and acceptable system of health care for the unified nation.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.3-11
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• 1999

The Korean system of health and medical care has been organized with both Oriental and Western medical sciences. To get complete clinical treatment results is not possible with only one-sided medical care, therefore we need to formulate an interdisciplinary plan for better health care, that is to say our ultimate purpose is the cooperative medical care for the promotion of social welfare and health. Hereupon, I made a searching inquiry into the present condition of cooperative medical care and its problems and also took a consideration into the medical state of other countries like China. Japan and North Korea where the Oriental medical care is used. The results of this investigation are as follows. There are some problems in both Oriental and Western(general) medical care, such as a lack of mutual confidence, a severance of interdisciplinary study, a shortage of professional human resources and so on. There also used to be problems of the system such as, the responsibility of medical care, the double charge for medical treatment, the governmental passive participation and policy, the private-oriented study system and so on. The solutions of these problems are that the mutual understanding and coexistence between both Oriental and Western medical sciences should be preceded and the interdisciplinary study, identified terminology and cooperative medical specialists would be necessary. Furthermore, the government has to seek some policies and legislation for the cooperative medical system and needs to support the public research institutes and centers of the cooperative medical care. After all, we have to train the cooperative medical specialists for the mutual aid of both Oriental and Western medical sciences and the government also has to support it with some policies and legislation for the better medical care system.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.97-108
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• 2011

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the utilization of Oriental medical services and its determinants among the elderly. Method: Data from a Korean longitudinal study of aging was used. Regression analysis was used to find the determinants of the utilization of medical care. Results: People with low education and low income were more likely to use Oriental medical services. Determinants of using Oriental health service were sex, marriage, income, subjective health condition, activity restriction due to pain, and chronic disease. Among them, only subjective health condition and activity restriction due to pain were significant determinants of frequency of and expenditure on Oriental medical services. Especially, activity restriction due to pain was a significant factor in the use of Oriental medical services, but not in the use of Western medical services. Conclusion: Treatment related to pain was closely associated with Oriental medical services. These treatments need to be developed with scientific and clinical evidence.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.98-107
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• 2013

Objectives This study aimed to develop the tailored health care program based on Sasang constitution for Vietnamese and evaluate the effect of them. Methods This research was executed from Sep. $1^{st}$ 2012 to Nov. $30^{th}$ 2012 in Vietnam Hanoi National Hospital of Traditional Medicine. All of 50 vietnamese subjects participated in the tailored health care program for 8 weeks after constitutional diagnosis. During the applicable period of the 8 weeks program, follow-up visits was conducted after 1 week, 4 week, and 8 week from the first visit, and Quality of life, Anxiety, Fatigue and Sleep Quality were measured. Results The tailored Health Care Program was applied to the subjects for eight weeks. The quality of life scores of Physical Functioning (p=0.006), Pain (p=0.003) and Physical Component Score (p=0.009) were significantly increased, and the sleep quality of subjects was improved after the tailored health care program is applied. Conclusions The tailored health care program based on Sasang constitution affected to some items about the quality of life and sleep quality of the subjects. however, this result can not be generalized to all Vietnamese, and various follow-up studies are needed.

• Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.111-117
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• 2009

We intended to identify the health state of Oriental medical students and also to know how many things of health practice are in healthy group and non-healthy group classified by the THI average score, according to sasang constitution. We collected data with self-administered health questionnaires from 297 men and women, in 9 Korea oriental medical colleges. We diagnosed Sasang constitution using QSCC II and also estimated health degree using THI. Non-healthy group practiced much more health behaviors than healthy one, and there were significant difference in Taeeumin and Soeumin. Non-healthy group of Taeeumin, Soeumin and Soyangin all practiced much more constitutional health behaviors than healthy one, and Soeumin non-healthy and healthy one all practiced much less health behaviors than Taeeumin and Soyangin group. Non-healthy group practiced health behavior for health care and maintenance more than healthy-one, and health state was related with sasang constitution health care. Therefore, institutional and systematic environmental condition would be needed in practicing healthy behaviors for improving the quality of health, and especially developed health promotion programs according to Sasang constitution too.